Resident doctors industrial action taking place from 25 July to 30 July

Our hospitals

We provide services in the hospital, the community and at people's homes. The sites we operate from are Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon Urgent Treatment Centre and Bensham Hospital. You can find out more about our sites here.

Our hospitals

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced strike action by resident doctors from 7:00am on Friday 25 July until 7:00am on Wednesday 30 July.

Many of our doctors at Gateshead Health are taking part, we expect our services to be severely impacted on the strike days and the days following. On these days we must prioritise emergency and urgent care to keep people safe. Please only attend the accident and emergency department (A&E) if you are seriously unwell or require emergency treatment.

Unfortunately, this means we may have to reschedule some routine appointments and procedures. We will limit this as much as possible as we know that this will be frustrating, however, it may be essential to allow emergency care to continue to be available. Any postponed appointments will be re-arranged as a priority.

We will contact patients directly to let them know if their appointment needs to be changed. If you have a routine appointment and have not been contacted by us please attend as planned.

There are some things that you can do to help us to make sure that care is available for the most seriously unwell or injured. These are:

Support your loved ones to get home from the hospital if they are well enough.
Use 111, GPs, and pharmacies as the first port of call for medical advice.

In case of non-urgent or non-life-threatening conditions, you may be asked to use a different service or come back on another day.

Your cooperation during these times is highly appreciated

Frequently asked questions

Trade unions representing NHS staff are in dispute with the Government over pay and conditions.

Resident doctors in Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust will take strike action from 7:00am Friday 25 July to 7:00am Wednesday 30 July

On all of these days, our key focus will be on providing safe care for patients who need urgent and emergency services, and those receiving inpatient care in our hospitals

We may have to postpone your scheduled appointment or procedure. If it needs to be postponed, then we will contact you directly. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as normal.

Please be patient with us whilst we work to get our services back to normal – we will be in touch with you to reschedule, but it may take some time.

If your appointment has been postponed and you were due to come into hospital using patient transport ambulance services, please let them know.

Our accident and emergency department will be open throughout the strike period and emergency care will continue to be available across all parts of the country.

It is really important that in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or their life is at risk – patients continue to come forward as normal.

As always, we encourage people to think about which is the most appropriate service for your needs. There are a range of options to help you, such as your local pharmacy, the NHS 111 service or your GP.

All time-critical maternity services and emergency maternity care will continue during the strike.

Some routine appointments and procedures will need to be postponed. We will contact you directly if you are affected.

GP services will be running on strike days. Please continue to attend scheduled GP appointments.

No. We will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action.

The industrial action will last from 7:00am Friday 25 July until 7:00am Wednesday 30 July. Our services may be impacted for a few days after the strike dates as we try to catch up on treatments. We will contact you if your appointment or procedure needs to be rescheduled.